What Will Happen Next?

It's been a great and very unpredictable NCAA Tournament, just as I thought it would. I got to enjoy it in person on Friday (and will again tomorrow) with my dad and brother. We're taking in the action at the Palace where we've seen the two biggest upsets of the tournament up to this point.

• In the 1st game, Northwestern St. came from 17 down to shock Big Ten Tourney champ and 3 seed Iowa on a fadeaway 3 in the corner with .5 sec. left. When the 3, I and the rest of the arena jumped out of our collective seats as we got to witness in person what March Madness is all about. Northwestern St. celebrated like they had just won the National Championship. I was so excited I don't think I sat down again until the 2nd game started. Northwestern St. has the best pep band by far of the 8 teams, they and their director are fun to watch, so it'll be great seeing them tomorrow. After the game, I guess a lot of Iowa fans were trying to get rid of their tickets because they had to replay the following announcement throughout the rest of the day, "Reselling tickets is not allowed in the arena, etc."
• West Virginia Pittsnoggled Southern Illinois in the 2nd game, creating havoc with their 1-3-1 matchup zone. If you haven't seen it in person, it's hard to prepare for. The key to attacking a 1-3-1 is putting a guy in the area of the foul line/top of the key, getting him the ball, then having 2 guys on the wing cut to the basket. Whenever SIU did this, they scored. But they didn't do it all of the time, which baffled me. Pittsnoggle was as advertised, hitting a variety of shots on offense. I think West Virginia will frustrate Northwestern St. tomorrow with their defense, but of course I'll be rooting for Cinderella to win, that's what it's all about.
• In the 3rd game, Pittsburgh shot lights out and disposed of Kent St. rather easily. Kent played very tight while Pitt was very loose. The only thing that was good for Kent was their dance team. Not a good showing by the MAC representative, this was the least competitive game of the day.
• Finally, Kansas/Bradley was a display of athleticism and talent. I think the MVC title game left a bitter taste in the Braves' mouth because there were no 12 minute droughts. They repeatedly hurt Kansas with a high pick and roll, where the roller was open for open 3s, which went in. Bradley even beat Kansas down the floor in most instances, getting some easy buckets in transition. Kansas made a late run, getting as close as 2 once I believe, but Bradley always had an answer and deserved to win the game. Bradley/Pittsburgh will be the 1st game tomorrow and should be close I think. Bradley doesn't have Pitt's size, but they're more athletic and experienced, so I think they're pretty evenly matched.
• With Iowa and Kansas both out, it will be interesting to see the crowd tomorrow. It was 18,000 for the afternoon and 19,000 for the evening. There are plenty of Pittsburgh and West Virginia fans, and a nice contingent of Bradley fans as well, so we'll see.
• The Palace is an impressive building from the outside. It's 17 years old and the first modern NBA building I believe that was built just as they are now, or at least the same things are kept in mind.

Now for some other thoughts on the Tournament, half of the Sweet 16 is now set and there are plenty of new faces already:

• Duke 74, George Washington 61. After having so much trouble with Southern Thursday, I thought GW presented some matchup problems for Duke. But the Dukies brought the defensive intensity today and showed they're playing better than they were a couple of weeks ago. JJ Redick's shot looks better, Shelden Williams is dominating in the middle, and the freshmen are playing better and better each night, especially today. Usually one of their weaknesses, Duke outrebounded GW by one today.
• Florida 82, UW-Milwaukee 60. The Florida guards had to go against 2 quick, pressing teams to start their march, but they passed both tests with flying tournaments, turning in the most impressive weekend by any team thus far. The way Joakim Noah and Al Horford can handle the ball for big men is scary. Noah is just a freak athletically, pure and simple. Milwaukee survived a poor shooting performance Thurs. by getting to the foul line, but they weren't able to do either tonight. Still, a good showing by the Panthers.
• Wichita St. 80, Tennessee 73. You can't play a more efficient offensive game than the Shockers did today. 50% from the field, 60% from 3, and 23/29 from the line led by PJ Cousinard's 20 points and 9 rebounds. Bruce Pearl and Tennessee took a big step this year, but they've got to get better defensively in the half-court before they take the next step. Except for Southern Illinois, the Valley has more than held their own in the Tournament and deserved their 4 bids.
• Boston College 69, Montana 56. BC took control at the beginning of the 2nd half and never looked back. Smith and Dudley combined for 42 points and 23 rebounds, just one less than Montana's team rebounding total.
• Washington 67, Illinois 64. Washington played impressive defense against the Illini and got to the foul line early and often, which was the difference. Washington has more offensive playmakers, guys who can get their own shot, something Illinois was lacking, but made up for with their defense. Washington matched their defensive intensity and got a big win for their program. With UCLA's win, the Pac 10 is a surprising 5-1 in the Dance. Dee Brown was just 5/18 for Illinois in his last game.
• LSU 58, Texas A&M 57. Darrel Mitchell hit a long 3 with 3.9 sec left to send LSU on, overcoming a gutty effort by the Aggies. The Aggies held LSU to 35% shooting and shot 46% from 3 themselves, but LSU's foul shooting was the key, going 18/23. Baby Shaq & Co. get Duke next.
• Gonzaga 90, Indiana 80. Despite only 14 points from Adam Morrison, the Zags are back in the Sweet 16 as everyone else stepped up. I can't believe Indiana of all teams contained Morrison, but Gonzaga put 6 in double figures, led by JP Batista's 20 points. Indiana played a decent offensive game, but failed to finish consistently in close and failed to get to the foul line (just 6 attempts).
• UCLA 62, Alabama 59. UCLA shot 51%, had 17 assists on their 24 field goals, but only went 5/13 from the foul line and got outboarded by 11. Credit to Alabama, they came to play all weekend, but they just didn't have enough.
• When they showed the score of UConn/Albany at the Palace and Albany kept pulling ahead, the Palace went into a frenzy. There was a mixed reaction to the Michigan St. result with Spartan and Wolverine partisans both in the crowd.
• Ohio St. needs to start shooting the 3 ball better if they're going to advance against Georgetown. Roy Hibbert vs. Terrence Dials will be an interesting matchup.
• The same holds true for Villanova, who would've probably gotten by anyone else but Monmouth with their shooting performance. Arizona came to play against Wisconsin, especially Hassan Adams. The Pac 10 has been a surprise so far, Arizona could give them 3 in the last 16.
• Texas needs to stop playing to the level of their competition. Texas's guards must shoot better than 3/14 against NC State.

So my bracket, well haha, there aren't many of my Sweet 16 left. There are 7 of my last 8 left going into tomorrow, so I won't win any awards, but I could have a nice ending I suppose. Can't wait to go watch more hoops tomorrow!